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Tuesday, 27 November 2012

Dear Lola,

There’s a
few things you should know about your papa. Actually there are a lot of things
you should know, but we’ll start with a few.

Papa is a
dreamer. But not in the typical sense of the word,in that he has ideas that are audacious or
unrealistic , he is quite the opposite really. You could say papa is the best sort of
dreamer one could be, as he makes the very things he conjures up in his mind, actually
happen.

He is pretty
much interested in everything.

Always
creating, growing things, fixing, learning, reading.

Always.

And he somehow seamlessly manages to take us along for
the ride too. I’ll often find you both up in the work shed, you with a hammer in
hand, while papa tells you about his latest projects. Warm afternoons are
spent in the garden watering & tending to the off cuts & seedlings papa
is experimenting with. No job or task is too big or small, and is taken care of
immediately, there is no "I’ll get around to doing it some other time” when your papa
is around. And did I mention he is an
amazing cook?!

There are
quite often big dreams too.

For instance, we decide we would like to go a on a holiday in the early new year. The brief
is to travel somewhere warm, with a beautiful coastline, that’s affordable
& culture rich. Somewhere we haven’t been before.

With this in mind papa dives head first into research mode. When he finally
surfaces from the books, computer & discussions with travel agents (which
he visits during his lunch breaks) he announces a possible
destination.

Sri Lanka.

Pardon... Sri Lanka?!

Really? I don’t think I know much at all about Sri
Lanka.

But we’re
dealing with your papa here, someone I trust completely & wholeheartedly,
someone we would follow to the ends of the earth if he thought it tobe a good idea.

You see
your papa doesn’t make these decisions lightly, and since announcing our
holiday, he has continued to build upon this idea.

How?

Well,
here’s a peek into our discussions…

Thanks to
papa I now know:

Sri Lanka
has more biodiversity per square metre than anywhere else in the world.

I know some
basic language, thanks to the cork board papa put up in the bathroom (strategically
placed opposite the toilet) that has pinned to it this:

And only moments after booking our trip, we discovered that Sri Lanka has justbeen named by Lonely Planet as the number one travel destination for 2013.

And he even printed off this little map and framed it to put in your room. Apparently you're pretty keen to see the tigers, elephants & the giant blue & red fish!

The way
papa grows ideas, his enthusiasm, dedication, drive & energy is
exhilarating.

How lucky
we are that he has two arms, one arm to link with mine, and the other to carry you with, as we get
into all sorts of wonderful adventures together.

So with the tickets booked to jet off in early February, I say with much excitement...